U.S. officials, of course, have always maintained that the Cold War was necessary to prevent the Soviet Union from imposing communism on the United States and the rest of the world. There could never be peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union, U.S. officials repeatedly told the American people throughout the Cold War, because the communists would never rest until their goal had been achieved. Any move toward peaceful coexistence was, in the eyes of U.S. officials, a first step in the surrender of the United States to the communists.

The utter inanity of that position is reflected by the fact that the United States did coexist with communist regimes, both during the Cold War and after it ended in 1989. In fact, today it peacefully coexists with China, Vietnam, and Cuba, all of which have long had communist governments.